How to Model Electrical Current
Imagine this: You’re sitting in your room, flick the switch and your light turns on instantly but have you ever wondered how that actually happens? The answer lies in electrical current. It’s like the invisible flow of energy that powers everything from your smartphone to your TV. Learning to model how this current works in a circuit will help you understand the basics of electricity and how it powers your everyday life. This is what Year 8 students have been looking at this last term.
What Is Electrical Current?
Electrical current is the flow of electric charge (usually carried by electrons) through a conductor, like a wire. Think of it as water flowing through a pipe. The more water that flows, the stronger the current. The same thing happens with electricity. When you connect a battery to a circuit, it pushes the electrons around, creating a current that powers your device.
In a circuit, this flow can be controlled, measured and used to perform tasks, like lighting up a bulb or running a motor but how can we model this flow?
Modelling Electrical Circuits: The Water Analogy
One of the simplest ways to understand how electrical current works is to compare it to something familiar: water flow. Here’s how you can break it down:
This analogy makes it easier to visualize how electricity moves through a circuit but there’s more to modelling circuits!
Modelling Electrical Circuits: The PGHS way!
Year 8 had to come up with their own way to model current. They could choose whichever scenario they wanted. Some students were very creative and came up with an array of different ideas. We had a pollination theme, where the bees moved around with the pollen. We had many deliveries and post service themes delivering all sorts of different packages (electrical energy). We even had a kitchen mayhem scene, where a mouse was running around for some cheese. A selection from 8g/Sc3 are shown below.
Fun Fact: Did you know that the speed at which electrons move in a circuit is incredibly slow? While the electric signal travels close to the speed of light, the actual electrons move only a few millimetres per second!
Mr Dean
Science Teacher